Truly Tropical farm in grows 50 different varieties of mangoes

Delray Beach — Just a few minutes north of the lights and crowds on Atlantic Avenue, there is a hidden oasis of tropical fruit.

Tucked away unassumingly at the end of residential Seacrest Avenue, the Truly Tropical farm can almost go unnoticed among the homes, schools and parks that line this northern end of the city.

But to mango connoisseurs from places as far away as India and Jamaica, the 5-acre farm provides them with hard-to-find fruit that brings back childhood memories and a place to exchange recipes and interact with other rare-fruit enthusiasts, raw foodists and locavores.

"We come for the real deal," said Kathleen Golaub, who bought mangoes on a recent afternoon to send to family in other parts of the US. "We're from Jamaica. We know real mangoes. You can't get these at the grocery store."

Goulab is talking about the Carrie, Duncan, Lemon Meringue and Haden varieties of mangoes she said she can only find at Truly Tropical. In fact, there are nearly 50 different varieties growing there.

Since 1988, Wenzel had worked at her father's store, the iconic Mercer Wenzel department store on Atlantic Avenue, spending more time there as her father got older.

But since the store closed in December, Wenzel has been able to pour all of her energy into the farm, which was recently featured on a raw food YouTube channel called Okraw.com. She also posts regularly on her blog, The Mango Report, and is trying to graft new species of mangoes onto already established trees.

"This for a lot of the years wasn't as much work, but now we have a lot of things we try to do to keep it growing the way we want it to," she said of the farm. "There are always special projects. I can spend 12 hours a day doing mangoes."

Among mango lovers, Wenzel's farm is considered a gem of sorts. Susan Lerner, former president of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council International, said there's a growing interest in planting rare and tropical fruits in South Florida.

"It's a worldwide movement to find and preserve the fruit of the world," Lerner said. "South Florida is such a fabulous environment and it's populated with people from everywhere and those people have a desire to grow fruit from their homeland."

That's in part why Wenzel has many so shoppers from India and Jamaica. Mangoes are native to Southeast Asia and the Philippines. Many Jamaicans also have Indian backgrounds and the fruit grows abundantly on the tropical island.

"It's a lot of work, but I really do like the people that I've gotten to know," Wenzel said. "There was one customer last year who was a very stressed or intense guy and over the season he has gotten a lot more relaxed."

That may be because turning off of Seacrest Boulevard into the farm is like entering a different world. Mango trees tall and small line the narrow driveway that leads to a pale yellow house. A giant lychee tree welcomes visitors onto a courtyard where buckets and boxes of mangoes are on display.

Wenzel delicately and diligently cuts slices of the ripe fruit for people to taste. The difference among them is startling even for the untrained palate.

"People have told me that as soon as they drive into the farm the feel so peaceful," she said. "They just forget whatever is worrying them and they just focus on the mangoes. It's really cool. I like that it has that kind of influence on people."

Wenzel is by no means the only mango grove in Palm Beach County. There's the Zill's Mango grove, which has been in Boynton Beach for decades, Hatcher Mango Hill in Lantana and many others to the south in places like Redland and Homestead.

But as Palm Beach County's population explodes and its property values soar once again, growers in urban areas such as Wenzel are becoming rare.

"Many properties that used to be groves are now houses and condominiums," said Har Mahdeem, past president of the Palm Beach Chapter of the Rare Fruit Council International. "The problem is development is resulting in higher property land values, so people sell."

That's in part why Wenzel was adamant about buying the five acres at the northern end of the city; she waited five years, she said, until the previous owners, who owned the land since 1943, agreed to sell it to her.

"I really felt strongly that I didn't want it to become more houses," Wenzel said. "And I was also completely crazy about mangoes."

Truly Tropical is located at 2750 Seacrest Blvd, Delray Beach, FL. For more information about hours call 561-278-7754.